Virginia Tech

I was deeply saddened to learn about yesterday’s tragic events on the Virginia Tech campus. I know I join all of my colleagues and students here at the University of Massachusetts Boston in sending heartfelt condolences to the family of the officer who was slain, and to the entire Virginia Tech community as they grieve the loss of one of their own and deal with this disturbing incident.

Yesterday’s events serve as a poignant reminder of our own need to be vigilant. You should know that our staff are constantly looking at ways to strengthen the campus’s emergency response procedures and notification methods. Among these efforts is the acquisition of an outdoor, campus public address system that will be activated in emergency situations. We plan to have the public address system installed early next year.

We also recently acquired a new Emergency Notification System (ENS), managed by RAVE Wireless, which we will use to notify and update the campus community in the case of an emergency. All student, faculty, and staff email addresses are in the ENS system, but we encourage you to also register your cell phone to receive calls and text messages from the ENS system. If you have not already signed up for UMass Boston Alerts, I encourage you to take the time to register your contact information on the UMass Boston Alert system website at https://www.getrave.com/login/umb.

Finally, I want to extend a thank you to all of those on our campus who work hard every day to ensure the safety of our community.